Always A Woman
by museicality
Summary: Written for SMACKDOWN 2011, Team Puppylove.   To Mattes, no matter what else she is, Clary is always a woman. Lyric prompts from "Always A Woman" by Billy Joel.
1. Friends and Enemies

Title: Friends and Enemies  
>Rating: PG<br>Word count: 182  
>Pairing: ClaryMattes  
>RoundFight: 3/A  
>Summary: "She can kill with a smile, she can wound with her eyes." Friends or enemies, he keeps them close; at least if it's going to hurt, he'll see it coming. Always a Woman Pt 1.<p>

Many people referred to things as being matters of life or death; however, the truth-value in their statements were always something to be weighed before believing. Many things in the Lower City were dangerous, many had dire consequences, and many, many were not spoken of in front of children.

Even though he could have said that his job was a matter of life or death, Mattes never did. He dealt with criminals and thieves, beggars and fools, and he often found himself at the sharp edge of a knife, and even though he did all these things, saw the things he saw, he never said the words "life or death".

Far more dangerous to him than the blade of a cutthroat or the threat of a Rat in the sewers was something much closer to home.

He kept the words, "Friends close and enemies closer" to heart, and kept the only thing that could cut him and kill him by his side.

Clary's eyes shone in the moonlight, cutting him deep, and Mattes waited for her smile to strike the last blow.


	2. Past

Title: Past  
>Rating: PG<br>Word count: 232

Pairing: Clary/Mattes  
>RoundFight: 3/A  
>Summary: "She can ruin your faith with her casual lies and she'll only reveal what she wants you to see." The past is always just a little too close for comfort, and Mattes' faith is tested. Always a Woman Pt 2.<p>

From the outset, Clary didn't attempt to hide her past from him; it's better this way, she had told him the one time he had asked why, and Mattes left it at that.

He thought that his trust in her went true and low and deep, as hard and fast as the river in the hills where he grew up.

But hearing her talk this way, watching her accept the bribe and waiting for her to return to him was slowly stripping him down.

"Back," she announced breathlessly a few minutes later, hands on her hips as she looked up at him. "The plans in place; sarden scuts won't know what hit them."

Mattes knew that his attempt at a normal, face-splitting grin had failed when she tilted her head and looked up at him curiously.

"What, Mattes?"

He nodded out towards the docks, where the Rats had disappeared into the pilings. "Just… this. Weird's me out."

And she must've understood, in that moment, because she laid a gentle hand on his arm.

"Hey, 'tisn't real. Undercover, remember?"

She growled a bit at the end. "Sarden Rats don't know who's coming for them; if'n they heard it's Tunstall and Goodwin back on their trail, they'd run with their tails between their legs."

And Mattes can take a deep breath again, because the past is in the past and he growls in agreement.


	3. Hiding

Title: Hiding  
>Rating: PG<br>Word Count: 180

Pairing: Clary/Mattes  
>RoundFight: 3/A  
>Summary: "She hides like a child but she's always a woman to me." Mattes and Clary get stuck in a cloudburst. Always a Woman Pt 3.<p>

Summer rainstorms remind him of how different Corus is from his home, just when he thinks he's forgotten all about it. Here, a storm can kick up in minutes and soak you before you know what's coming at you, but at home you'd be able to see the thunderheads miles out before you'd actually get the rain they'd bring.

Here, there's no hint of wet-grass smell or of black-earth color, only piss-warm rain and the smell of the Lower City.

Mattes turns, searching as the cloudburst erupts in another thunderclap, and realizes there's no hint of Clary Goodwin around either.

Huddled under an overhang, he finds his partner, hugging her arms around her chest. He thinks he sees her shake when the thunder rolls, but he doesn't let her see that it's almost amusing how the great and capable Clary Goodwin can be taken out by a wee bit o' noise.

He wraps his arms around her instead and waits for the wind and the rain to stop, pressing his lips to her soaked hair to ward off her shivers.


	4. Leading and Leaving

Title: Leading and Leaving  
>Rating: PG<br>Word Count: 221

Pairing: Clary/Mattes  
>RoundFight: 3/A  
>Summary: "She can lead you to love, she can take you or leave you." Different events have different effects, and Mattes can make neither head nor tail of some of them. Always a Woman Pt 4.<p>

The life of a Dog leads to events that people are not prone to forgetting, and Mattes is no exception. He is particularly fond of ones like joining up with the Dogs, and several adventures with his training pair.

There are more events of a fouler type, he knows, ones that involve secrets and lies for everyone involved, and he smashes through these with naught but his baton and Clary at his back; he doesn't normally care to remember these.

Still others, he isn't so sure about, for they cross too many lines in the sand for him to remember where he stands.

The night of the fight at the Barrel's Bottom is one of these tenuous events, and sometimes when he's happy Mattes doesn't mind remembering. Sometimes he does, but even the bottom of his mug of ale can't tell him the secrets to forgetting.

He wouldn't have met Sabine that night, not without Clary. Without her at his back, he'd probably have made a damn fool of himself too.

But even as they left together, Cooper in tow, Mattes knew without looking that Clary would leave without a backwards glance in the morning—heading towards a bed without him, not away from one with him—so he didn't protest when Sabine took him with her a few nights later.


	5. Truth and Lies

Title: Truth and Lies  
>Rating: PG<br>Word Count: 181

Pairing: Clary/Mattes  
>RoundFight: 3/A  
>Summary: "She can ask for the truth, but she'll never believe you." Truth and lies are so closely entwined; he hears them all the time, after all. Telling them shouldn't be so hard. Always a Woman Pt 5.<p>

"No, tell me the truth this time," Clary protested, fists clenched. "You tell me the truth, Matthias Tunstall!"

For a moment Mattes thought that he could, that he could open his mouth and spill all his secrets right out there at her feet, a poor man's riches at the foot of her throne.

Then he saw the way that her eyes threatened to overflow and how she choked back small sounds and swallowed them down so he'd never hear them, and he couldn't do it.

"Tomlan—"

Could he finish the sentence?

"—Tom's a good man, Clary." His hand moved, as if to touch her cheek, then fell to his side, useless. "He cares for you, l—love's you. I—" and he swallowed hard, "—I—not like that."

It was said and done.

"I'm sorry."

Oh, but he was, because, because… not like that, this conversation was never meant to end like that, but he had made it, oh, how he had made it, and now Mattes was left to sleep alone in the bed he had made.


	6. Questions and Answers

Title: Questions and Answers  
>Rating: PG<br>Word Count: 119

Pairing: Clary/Mattes  
>RoundFight: 3/A  
>Summary: "She'll take what you give her as long as its free." There are questions meant to be asked, and some better off left unsaid; both have answers. Always a Woman Pt 6.<p>

Clary never asked questions.

Mattes wondered if there was a reason; was she afraid of the answers?

Were they, somehow, already answered between the two of them, in the dark of the night held hushed between their bodies?

Did she already know the answers?

He certainly didn't, and sometimes he thought he might like her to explain to him just what was going on.

Her hushed voice offered other promises and other secrets, questions he could and did answer without words, and so they settled for the language their hands tapped out, smoothed out across their skin in a lightless room.

Clary never asked questions and took all of his answers with her when she slipped out the door.


	7. Thievery

Title: Thievery  
>Rating: PG<br>Word Count: 139

Pairing: Clary/Mattes  
>RoundFight: 3/A  
>Summary: "Yeah, she steals like a thief but she's always a woman to me." There isn't a thief in the world that can scare him more. Always a Woman Pt 7.<p>

Quite a team they made, Matthias Tunstall and Clara Goodwin stalking the streets of the Lower City at midnight…

It sounded a bit like the stuff of legends, but she punched him in the arm and told him not to be a looby; legends were for nobles, and were not made of thieves, murderers, and other assorted nightmares.

Nightmares they certainly saw, out and about, and Mattes remembered his first nights out with his Training Dogs, thieves crossing their paths and how the growls f his partners had thrilled him to the bones even as his blood ran cold.

Yet, that flicker of fear never ran through his stomach after he partnered with Clary, because there wasn't a thief in the world that could steal better than she could steal away his kisses and make off with his heart.


	8. Stubborn

Title: Stubborn  
>Rating: PG<br>Word Count: 118

Pairing: Clary/Mattes  
>RoundFight: 3/A  
>Summary: "Oh, she takes care of herself." Clary is a stubborn mot. Always a Woman Pt 8.<p>

The Lower City is full of stubborn mots, and sometimes Mattes thinks this is what gives it part of its peculiar charm. He's learned not to take anyone for granted, and not to underestimate anyone, not even a member of the fairer gender.

Clary Goodwin still manages to surprise him though.

"I'm fine," she snaps more harshly than she means when he crouches beside her. "Just a cut—I've bandages here."

Mattes' hands smooth the white cotton against her arm even as she winds it around again, and he tugs the end away to secure the bandage for her.

"I had it," Clary insists, stubborn to the bone but letting her eyes say 'thank you' for her anyway.


	9. Waiting

Title: Stubborn  
>Rating: PG<br>Word Count: 118

Pairing: Clary/Mattes  
>RoundFight: 3/A  
>Summary: "Oh, she takes care of herself." Clary is a stubborn mot. Always a Woman Pt 8.<p>

AN: I just want to take this opportunity to thank my readers; as you may have noticed, the majority of my work on ffnet is very, very short, or consisting of very short chapters. This is caused by the fact that these fic were written for Goldenlake's SMACKDOWN challenge last year, and time was of the essence! In the future, I'll be uploading fic that is longer, so thank you for reading all these short drabbles and keep an eye out :) ~Muse

x.

The Lower City is full of stubborn mots, and sometimes Mattes thinks this is what gives it part of its peculiar charm. He's learned not to take anyone for granted, and not to underestimate anyone, not even a member of the fairer gender.

Clary Goodwin still manages to surprise him though.

"I'm fine," she snaps more harshly than she means when he crouches beside her. "Just a cut—I've bandages here."

Mattes' hands smooth the white cotton against her arm even as she winds it around again, and he tugs the end away to secure the bandage for her.

"I had it," Clary insists, stubborn to the bone but letting her eyes say 'thank you' for her anyway.


	10. Changing Her Mind

Title: Changing Her Mind  
>Rating: PG<br>Word Count: 167

Pairing: Clary/Mattes  
>RoundFight: 3/A  
>Summary: "And she never gives out, and she never gives in; she just changes her mind." Mattes pesters Clary every Night Watch. Always a Woman Pt 10.<p>

Every night since they'd first been partnered, Mattes stopped for apple-raisin patties from Mistress Noll's stand, and every night since they'd first been partnered, Mattes tried to get Clary to try a bite.

Every night since he started pestering her, Clary refused.

At first, it was pointblank: "No, Mattes."

Then he discovered that he could tease her and needle her without subjecting himself to her infamous temper, and she started to need reasons.

She eyed the mess on his chin and over his fingers. "No, Mattes. You're a mess; one of us needs to look respectable."

The stand was crowded in a press of hungry mots and coves. "No, Mattes. Too many people."

She sniffed the air carefully. "Too much cinnamon. No thank you."

One evening, Mattes passed the stand without stopping, not even mentioning it to Clary.

The same thing happened the next night, and the next.

"Mattes?" Clary asked finally, curious.

He grinned. "I thought you'd never ask."

There wasn't too much cinnamon, Clary discovered.


End file.
